Eileen Lam ’15 of New York City is shown at Columbia University’s Low Memorial Library. A fellowship from the Creating Connections Consortium enabled Lam to spend the summer experiencing graduate-level work at Columbia. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Eileen Lam ’15 always thought that graduate school would be hard, and so it is.

But she now knows that it’s manageable. And what she didn’t expect was how much she’d enjoy one of the harder challenges she encountered doing graduate-level work at Columbia University: statistical analysis.

Lam, a Chinese and politics double major from New York City, did not need a time machine to experience academe, graduate-style. Instead, she and two other Bates students received fellowships to spend most of summer 2014 living — and working — the way grad students do.

Providing the fellowships was the Creating Connections Consortium, a group of colleges and universities striving to increase faculty diversity at private liberal arts institutions. The consortium, aka C3, seeks to encourage students, particularly from groups underrepresented in academe, to take the educational journey that can lead to a faculty career.

“I wanted to see what it would be like to be a graduate student, in all ways,” says Lam, whose Columbia experience included research, which she designed, into political participation among Asian Americans.

The C3 Undergraduate Fellowship, she says, “really helped me see that I like research and I have what it takes to be a Ph.D. candidate.”

Nicole Bermudez ’16 of Lake Forest, Calif., worked with a professor and grad students in Columbia University’s political science department. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Middlebury, Williams and Connecticut colleges launched C3 in 2012 on the strength of a $4.7 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Today, C3 comprises those three schools and 18 more, including Bates, belonging to the Liberal Arts Diversity Officers consortium (LADO); and two research universities, Columbia and the University of California, Berkeley.

C3 initiatives enable postdoctoral researchers, as well as undergrads, to encounter the possibilities up close and personal. In a program complementing the undergraduate fellowships, C3 fellowships enable cohorts of emerging scholars from Columbia and Berkeley to teach and do research as postdocs at the three lead colleges, plus a fourth LADO school to be named in early 2015 (Bates has applied).

C3 “is thinking about communities of people who have traditionally been on the periphery of the academy, and about more deeply embedding them in the very heart of what we’re trying to do,” says Crystal Williams, Bates’ chief diversity officer and a member of the consortium’s executive committee.

“Part of the goal is to introduce our undergraduates to graduate school and to the idea of the professoriate. And part is to get graduate students really thinking about the liberal arts model as a place where they can be highly effective teachers, scholars and change agents.”

The need to draw more faculty from diverse backgrounds is pressing. According to U.S. Department of Education figures, of the roughly 750,000 full-time teaching faculty at all categories of U.S. colleges and universities in fall 2011, 79 percent were white (and of those, 44 percent were men).

The Bates trio was the largest contingent from a single institution to receive C3 Undergraduate Fellowships last summer. Also attending Columbia was a second politics major, Nicole Bermudez ’16 of Lake Forest, Calif. She investigated shifting perspectives on party politics among indigenous populations in Ecuador.

Like Lam, Bermudez ended her summer with a new sense of possibility. “Definitely, receiving a Ph.D. requires a lot of work and it’s very difficult. But I learned that it’s doable,” says Bermudez, who is Hispanic. “We had to be very self-motivated.”

Bates’ third C3 fellow was Elliott Evers ’15, a math major from Helena, Mont., who did research in numerical analysis at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley, Calif. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Bates’ third C3 fellow was Elliott Evers ’15, a math major from Helena, Mont. Evers, who is Native American, did research in numerical analysis at the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, on the Berkeley campus. Generously supported by C3, the fellows enjoyed a jam-packed eight weeks as they:

• conducted and presented research relating to their Bates majors, and assisted with research that their faculty and postdoc mentors were doing;
• took courses in GRE prep and such topics as quantitative research;
• and attended workshops exploring how to get into, and succeed in, grad school, including sessions with multicultural graduate students who shared their own experiences.

For all three, the robust mentoring from faculty, graduate students and even C3 officers was one of the most valuable aspects of the experience. Working with mentor Loyola Marymount math professor Herbert Medina, Evers initially worried that he might be a burden — but the experience was just the opposite, thanks to Medina’s infectious enthusiasm for the work. “He’s a great mentor,” says Evers. “He really cared.”

Lam’s faculty mentor was Robert Y. Shapiro, a prominent political scientist. “We study his books in class,” she says. She was impressed by the attention he gave to the mentees’ work. “He would read these 25-page papers multiple times to make sure that we were going in the right direction and to point us toward areas we should look at.”

At Columbia, the C3 fellows in politics worked closely with Amber Spry, a doctoral candidate in American politics and designated mentor. With Shapiro, Spry taught the “Principles of Quantitative Research” course — an accelerated version of a course taken by first-year doctoral students — and was a valuable counselor.

“She was a great resource for all questions I had, whether they were related to the project or just more broadly about the lifestyle of an academic,” says Lam. “Amber is a true inspiration.”

“Relationships are an important element in scholarly growth,” says Spry. “My best teachers did more than provide classroom instruction — they helped me find the tools I needed to reach my goals, and taught me how to learn well along the way. I like to believe that I’m modeling something similar for my students.”

The fellows’ summer takeaways included practical insights — for instance, in picking a graduate program, the importance of finding not just the right institution but the right professor.

But Lam, Bermudez and Evers experienced deeper inspirations as well. Evers savored the opportunity to do theoretical research. “If you’re at a place for two months working on a single problem, and you find something interesting and you want to explore it further, that’s what makes it fun,” he says. “That’s what academe is all about.

“There’s no algorithm to answer these problems. You’ve got to be creative.”

Beyond the C3-specific mentoring relationships with faculty and grad students, there were ample opportunities for the all-important networking, thanks in large part to the symposia that ended the experiences.

“We made a lot of connections with people who did different things with their Ph.D.’s,” says Lam. “That was cool.”

If The Leadership Alliance and other programs share C3’s goals, Williams points out that the consortium’s structure and approach are distinctive. In particular, the linkage between two disparate educational segments — Research 1 universities and liberal arts schools — is unusual and, as Williams says, exciting.

The R1s hope that their Ph.D.’s will find teaching positions at rigorous and rewarding institutions. And with a tidal demographic shift looming as baby boomer professors approach retirement, liberal arts schools like Bates are determined that their successors be as diverse as the society their students will graduate into.

Both intellectually and ethically, with its founding emphasis on inclusion, Bates is a good fit for C3, says Williams, who first became involved with the LADO as dean for institutional diversity at Reed College, and now represents the consortium on the C3 executive board. (She brought a Bates contingent, including President Clayton Spencer and eight students, to a C3 summit at Connecticut College last spring.)

Still fresh in the collective Bates consciousness is the term “beautiful cycle,” which Commencement speaker Tommy Holmberg ’13 used to describe how generations of Bates students perpetuate the best of Bates.

But the term suits the Creating Connections Consortium just as nicely, as it equips undergrads for grad school, postdocs to teach undergrads and, hopefully, campuses large and small to be better support diversity. “It’s a holistically beneficial project,” says Williams.

Bates’ C3 fellows are still pondering their post-graduation options, but all three came away convinced that graduate school would work for them. Convinced, too, of the fellowship’s potential for widening access to grad school and the professoriate.

“This program really does show that it’s not as difficult as you would imagine,” says Lam. “I think a lot of people are frightened. They say, ‘Five to seven more years of schooling? What could you possibly be doing?’

Kim is among 41 scholarship recipients who will each receive up to $50,000 annually for graduate studies in the U.S. or abroad.

“I would like to either work as an environmental consultant, working to increase corporations’ environmental practices, or at the United Nations Environment Programme as a policy consultant,” says Kim, who double-majored in environmental studies and music at Bates.

Kim is clear about not only what she seeks to do with her life, but also how she aims to change the world around her. “I am incredibly passionate about mitigating climate change and adapting to the inevitable effects of the greenhouse gases that we have already emitted.”

The Bates environmental studies faculty helped Kim narrow down an intimidatingly large choice of specialties. “I was able to really explore different concentrations within the large topic of environmental studies,” she says. “Through taking classes in different disciplines, I was able to find my interest in environmental economics.”

Kim says, “Without this focus, I would not have thought that I wanted to work as an environmental or policy consultant.”

For her senior thesis in environmental studies, Kim investigated a topic related to Lewis’ research into contingent valuation, an economic technique for placing a value on resources, such as environmental quality, that don’t have conventional market value. This work, says Kim, “taught me a lot about data analysis through the application of concepts that I had learned in other classes. I understand regressions a lot more than I ever would have through just taking the econometrics class.“

Kim’s interest in environmental studies is rivaled by her lifelong love of music.

“Music often is my stress reliever, because when I leave everything and go play the piano, violin or sing, I can get lost in it. That is one of the only times when my head is not swirling with thoughts of everything else I need to do.”

Her musical achievements include service as concert master of the Choate Rosemary Hall Chamber Orchestra and participation in a Grammy Award-winning recording by the Michigan State University Children’s Choir in 2006.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, established by a successful entrepreneur who regretted that his Depression-era upbringing prevented him from attending college, has been by Kim’s side since seventh grade, when she became a JKCF Young Scholar.

“But I think that the most valuable aspect of this relationship was the guidance they provided. They advised me through boarding school applications and again through my college applications and choices. They did not just support me financially — they guided me through the challenges I faced in life.”

Known as a top producer of students receiving prestigious Fulbright grants for teaching and research abroad, Bates has announced that 10 seniors and former students have received Fulbright awards this year.

Supporting an academic year of research and teaching in more than 155 countries outside the United States, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is funded primarily by the U.S. Department of State and sends some 1,500 U.S. citizens abroad annually.

This year, 16 current Bates students or alumni were selected as Fulbright finalists. Of the 10 recipients, all but one were awarded English Teaching Assistantships, which support positions teaching English in primary and secondary schools or universities.

The exception was Bates senior Kathryn Ailes, who received a grant for study and research. She is Bates’ first Fulbright recipient to enter a master’s program in the U.K.

Meet Bates’ 2014 Fulbright recipients (except as indicated, all are members of the Class of 2014):

Kathryn Ailes of Swarthmore, Pa. A double major in English and dance, she received a grant for study and research and will enter the Masters of Research program at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

Ellen Gawarkiewicz of North Falmouth, Mass. A 2013 graduate of Bates, where she majored in environmental studies and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Gawarkiewicz received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for work in Nepal.

Alexandra Hill of Wayland, Mass. A double major in Spanish and sociology, Hill was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for work in Brazil.

Ashley Lepre of Portland, Maine. A 2013 graduate of Bates, where she majored in English, Lepre was awarded an English Teaching Assistantship for Bulgaria.

Clara Maeder of Washington, D.C. A politics major, Maeder received an English Teaching Assistantship for Mexico.

Owen Minott of Needham, Mass. A politics major, Minott was awarded an English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.

Anna Munter of Washington, D.C. A French and Francophone studies major, Munter received an English Teaching Assistantship for Malaysia.

Meg Ramey of San Francisco. A 2012 graduate of Bates, where she majored in English and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, Ramey is the recipient of an English Teaching Assistantship for Mexico.

John Stewart of Keene, N.H. A double major in philosophy and politics, Stewart was awarded an English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.

Amy Strada of North Salem, N.Y. An English major, Strada received an English Teaching Assistantship for the Czech Republic.

A French and Francophone studies major, Anna Munter ’14 of Washington, D.C., received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Malaysia.

Growing up in international schools with classmates from around the world, Munter learned from an early age that the “cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity of a student body enhances learning situations.” She believes that Malaysia, a nation that is both multicultural and predominantly Muslim, is the perfect environment to explore and expand on these observations.

Munter finds activities that use the arts to be highly effective in both learning and teaching a foreign language. She hopes to take advantage of Malaysia’s rich cultural life “in utilizing everything from puppet shows to basket-weaving in order to personalize English lessons and promote intercultural exchange.”

Her educational experience includes teaching in prekindergarten classrooms in Lewiston and at the Bates College Museum of Art.

After Malaysia, Munter intends to pursue a master’s degree, specializing in either international education or special education. “I envision a career as an academic administrator in an international context,” she says.

Owen Minott ’14 is a 2014 recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship. (Sarah Crosby/Bates College)

A politics major, Owen Minott ’14 of Needham, Mass., was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Brazil.

As an elementary school tutor and an English-language-learner instructor working with Somali adults in Lewiston, Minott expanded his teaching skills, his patience, and his ease with cross-cultural interactions — qualities that will stand him in good stead during his teaching assistantship in Brazil.

Minott is excited about being in Brazil at a formative time in that nation’s history. “After a decade of growth, Brazil has developed a new middle class and I am curious to witness the social effects of changing demographics in this very diverse nation,” he says.

Minott will also spend time volunteering for a news organization, and engaging with university students by holding viewings and discussions of Brazilian and American films that deal with gender and sexuality.

“Brazil’s female president and legalization of same-sex marriage are two milestones not yet achieved by the U.S.,” he says. “Comparing U.S. and Brazilian issues of gender and sexuality would likely spark a mutually interesting dialogue.”

A dean’s list student at Bates, Minott wrote a politics thesis exploring what motivates political violence.

Clara Maeder ’14 is a 2014 recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship. (Sarah Crosby/Bates College)

A politics major, Clara Maeder ’14 of Washington, D.C., received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Mexico.

In Maine and abroad in Chile and Ghana, Maeder has taught English and ecology in a variety of circumstances.

Based on her experiences teaching English to migrant farmworkers in Maine, she plans to use hands-on techniques for teaching in Mexico. She says, “I’ll use English-language learning to assist students in finding answers to questions that puzzle them and to guide students in discovering questions they never considered.”

See Maeder’s senior thesis, recently published in the Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics (please scroll to page 67):

Outside the classroom, she expects to be active in the local community through working outdoors, perhaps by organizing environmentally focused field trips or creating educational school or community gardens. “Of the most meaningful cross-cultural connections I have made while living abroad, teaching and volunteering, almost all have involved being outdoors and working together,” she says.

Upon completing her Fulbright experience, Maeder will study education at the graduate level and pursue teaching, ideally in a bilingual secondary school, investigating what students can learn from exploring other languages and cultures. She hopes to move eventually into education administration and policymaking.

Ashley Lepre ’13 is a 2014 recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Student Grant. (Sarah Crosby/Bates College)

An English major, Ashley Lepre ’13 of Portland, Maine, was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for Bulgaria.

Lepre brings considerable teaching experience to her assistantship in Bulgaria. An education and philosophy minor, in addition to her major in English, she worked with students in a middle school English-language-learners (ELL) program, with ninth- and 10th-grade English students and with fifth-grade special-needs students, all in Lewiston.

“From my teaching experience, I discovered the connectivity of all aspects of a student’s life,” she says. “The student-community relationship in Bulgaria will supplement my understanding of American school systems.”

A dean’s list student at Bates, Lepre was a key member of the women’s rugby club, an experience that gave her “a fundamental confidence in my abilities as an athlete, a leader and a teacher, as well as a powerful drive to reach for the best in myself,” she says. She hopes to use her interest in rugby as a means for engaging with the community in Bulgaria where she teaches.

Upon completing her assistantship in Bulgaria, Lepre is interested in working in ELL educational environments and undertaking graduate studies.

Alexandra Hill ’14 is a 2014 recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship. (Sarah Crosby/Bates College)

Double-majoring in Spanish and sociology, Alexandra Hill ’14 of Wayland, Mass., was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for work in Brazil.

The youngest member of a bicultural family, Hill from an early age developed an interest in language and a curiosity about cultures. She is excited to visit Brazil at a momentous time, with the nation to host the soccer World Cup this year and the Summer Olympics in 2016. The English Teaching Assistantship, she says, is an opportunity to use “my experiences in education to contribute to the preparations for these events.”

While studying abroad in Uruguay, Hill interned with a local organization in which she undertook challenging teaching assignments that taught “the importance of understanding students and their struggles and developing practical ways of overcoming these obstacles in the classroom.”

Hill conducted a senior thesis project that researched social media as an educational and social phenomenon among Brazilian youth. She was a dean’s list student at Bates and was part of the women’s rowing team that took second place in the NCAA competitions. She hopes to pursue a career incorporating translation and interpretation services.

A double major in English and dance, Kathryn Ailes ’14 of Swarthmore, Pa., is Bates’ first Fulbright recipient to enter a master’s program in the U.K. She will enter the Masters of Research program at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

With the ultimate goal of teaching literature and creative writing at the university level while continuing to write and perform her own poetry, Ailes’ research will examine how contemporary Scottish performance poets define national and cultural identity, and how poetic notions of “Scottishness” have evolved in recent decades.

“I will specifically examine literary reactions to the September 2014 independence referendum,” she explains, “and how contemporary Scottish poetry both feeds into and responds to nationalistic sentiment.”

As she researches local slam poetry culture, she will work closely with Glasgow’s St. Mungo’s Mirrorball Society, a literary organization, and with the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh. Ailes will also provide spoken-word workshops at local schools.

Known at Bates for her performances of dance and poetry, Ailes’ numerous achievements and awards at the college include the English department’s Alice Jane Dinsmore Wandke Award, recognizing excellent female poets. She won the University of Edinburgh Literature Society November Poetry Slam in 2012.

A 2013 graduate of Bates, where she majored in environmental studies and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Ellen Gawarkiewicz of North Falmouth, Mass., has received a 2014 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for work in Nepal. (Courtesy photo)

An environmental studies major who graduated Phi Beta Kappa, Ellen Gawarkiewicz ’13 of North Falmouth, Mass., has received a 2014 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for work in Nepal.

“From Somali refugees in Lewiston to rural teenagers in Ifaty, Madagascar, I’ve had the good fortune to teach students in communities with diverse pedagogical traditions,” says Gawarkiewicz. “Teaching is where my enthusiasm lies.

“I’ve learned that one cannot begin with assumptions about the best way to convey information or about what students comprehend. Knowledge is constructed based on what the student already knows. A teacher needs to appreciate the ‘foundation’ of cultural context, interests, learning styles, living conditions, on which to build.”

The Fulbright award for Nepal, she says, will enable her to deepen her affinity for educating through community immersion. She seeks to extend the experience in environmental and language education that she amassed at Bates.

“Teaching English in Nepal will be an important step toward my long-term goal of becoming a naturalist-educator with a global perspective, both cultural and environmental.” After her Fulbright experience, Gawarkiewicz plans to attend graduate school and go on to work as an environmental educator and to write children’s books.